Tours For Groups
An enjoyable way of ensuring you make the most of your group’s visit to historic Rochester is by having a walking tour or coach tour with a guide provided by the City of Rochester Society.
We are pleased to announce that we are open again to take group tours.
We also run the following special booked tours;
Dickensian Rochester
The Pickwick Papers
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Rochester's Home Front During the Great War
What Did the French Do for Us?
Dame Sybil Thorndike & Family
Contact us at info@city-of-rochester.org.uk to book.
Walking Tour
Discovering our Historic City
An enjoyable way of ensuring you make the most of your group’s visit to historic Rochester is by having a walking tour with a guide provided by the City of Rochester Society. The compact size and almost traffic-free City centre makes it ideal for exploring on foot.
The guided walks cover no great distance, yet the route passes all the major sights in the old City, the Cathedral precincts and the Castle grounds.
The City of Rochester Society guides are well informed local history enthusiasts, who will be pleased to share their knowledge of Rochester’s past and personalities with you.
The Society can provide a guide at most times during the year and at starting times and locations which suit your needs.
As well as our heritage tour, that lasts approximately 90 minutes, the Society can provide tours on specialist subjects, such as Rochester’s connections with Charles Dickens, Rochester’s industrial history, etc. We can also suggest special itineraries for your specific requirements. For children of school age the Society can arrange special shorter walking tours.
We do make a small individual charge of £5.00 per person (£4.00 for under 18’s) for booked group walks and our minimum overall charge is £40.00.
Please note that we are currently unable to offer tours to overseas student or schools groups.
Coach Tour
Dickens’ Country Ride
Groups visiting Rochester by coach (there is a free coach parking in the City centre) might like to add our Dickens’ Country Ride to their itinerary. This is a tour of about 20 miles in the pleasant countryside around Rochester with one of our knowledgeable guides as courier, taking in the villages and places that Dickens knew so well, such as Cooling Church and Castle, Cliffe, Gad’s Hill Place, Chalk and Cobham. Your coach must be equipped with a public address system and a courier seat.
Duration: between 90 minutes and 2 hours
The Dickens’ Country Ride is £100.00 per coach (whether or not combined with a walking tour).
We’ve received some amazing testimonials on recent tours
- Alison M
This is a free guided tour. For a start most unusual for something so professional. Donations welcome at the end but no pressure.
The Tour - 90 minutes from... read more
October 6, 2020 Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and very friendly. The way he put his walking tour together was both informative and thoughtful. We saw and learned things which we would have... read more 
K8196ULstevef
December 24, 2022sjm1971xxx Arrived in Rochester to visit the castle and cathedral to discover Rochester Sweeps Festival in full swing. Although lots to see and do we made sure we met John for... read more
May 6, 2019A Tripadvisor Member Or guide, Alan, was engaging, knowledgable and enthusiastic. Highly recommended, just a shame that the "group of six" C19 rule restriction will prevent some from joining the walk for the... read more
October 1, 2020 - Campbell It's a good introduction to Rochester and it's history and figures. Chris was knowledgeable about the tour content, different museums and sites to see and also the local area... read more
October 1, 2019A Tripadvisor Member Well worth joining whether you are visiting or a resident. Our guide, John, was enthusiastic and knowledgeable bringing the history of the city to life. The Society does a great... read more
October 1, 2020Neil M Or guide, Alan, was engaging, knowledgable and enthusiastic. Highly recommended, just a shame that the "group of six" C19 rule restriction will prevent some from joining the walk for the... read more
October 1, 2020Jacqueline B Came across this tour by chance. John was very knowledgeable, welcomed questions and definitely knew his stuff. Free tour with any donations given used by the society to... read more
December 1, 2021 - Many thanks to John for a superb guided walk around the beautiful city of Rochester. The walk covered the main sites but many more that I would not have found... read more
mikepH1934ZE
December 7, 2022Neil M Or guide, Alan, was engaging, knowledgable and enthusiastic.
Highly recommended, just a shame that the "group of six" C19 rule restriction will prevent some from joining the walk for the... read more
October 12, 2020Bishopj0000 Came across this tour by chance. John was very knowledgeable, welcomed questions and definitely knew his stuff.
Free tour with any donations given used by the society to... read more
December 5, 2021Rosemary Hamilt... H Well worth joining weather you are visiting or a resident.Our tour guild Rosemary ,was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable.Bringing the Historyof the city to life.The Society does a great job.There was... read more
July 1, 2021
If you’ve enjoyed one of our tours, please leave a review on Trip Advisor via the link below.
